AN MP has blasted an ex-Labour councillor after he was revealed as a General Election candidate for the Brexit Party.

Brighton Kemptown MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle said former Brighton and Hove City councillor Tom Bewick, who has been selected as Brexit candidate for Hastings and Rye, would fail in an election.

Work and Pensions Secretary and born-again Brexiteer Amber Rudd currently sits there on a wafer-thin majority of 346.

Referring to Ukip winning 2.7 per cent of the vote in the town in 2017, the Labour MP said Mr Bewick would win “about the same amount”.

Mr Russell-Moyle said: “He tried to stand against me in the selection for candidates in Kemptown. He thought Kemptown wanted Brexit.

“Tom, of course, ended up falling out with Labour because his views were at odds with the party. He ran the Vote Leave campaign in Brighton and Hove.

“I am sure the fine voters of Sussex will reject the Brexit Party’s nasty right-wing views.”

Mr Bewick responded by saying he wasn’t going to engage in “personal attacks”.

But he described himself as a “leftist radical centrist” and compared his views to Labour “legends” Tony Benn and Nye Bevan.

He said: “I’m just disappointed there are Labour MPs like Lloyd who have betrayed voters by running on a platform of supporting Brexit in 2017 and then turning around.

“After the 2015 council election I was lead member for children’s services in Brighton.

“I grew up in foster care myself so I’m passionate about it.

“I knew we had to leave the EU but not many of my Labour colleagues agreed.

“I left because they were toxic to anyone who didn’t support Corbyn’s sect.

“Millions of people feel let down by the Tories and Labour.”

Mr Bewick denied being worried about splitting the Conservative vote in Hastings and allowing Labour to win the seat.

He said: “I don’t approach my politics in terms of fearing a certain result, I approach it with what I want to do.

“I will be standing in a strong Leave constituency. It has a fishing industry which has been utterly destroyed by the EU.

“We’re not the junior wing of the Conservatives or a Ukip faction, we’re a completely new party.”

The Brexit Party also announced it would run a candidate in Mid Sussex against ardent Remainer Sir Nicholas Soames.

The Argus has approached the candidate, David Banks, for comment, as well as Mr Soames.